Penwith targets Grade 1 prestige in Santa Margarita

ARCADIA, Calif. – The desire to get a Grade 1 win with Penwith caused trainer Kiaran McLaughlin and owner Godolphin Racing to ship the mare from Florida early this week to take on local stars Tara’s Tango and Taris in the Grade 1, $500,000 Santa Margarita on Saturday at Santa Anita.

Penwith, 5, has won her last two starts, most recently the Grade 2 Royal Delta at Gulfstream on Feb. 13, which marked her first win in a graded stakes. A Grade 1 victory obviously would be significant for the residual value of a mare by Bernardini out of the multiple Grade 1-winning mare Composure, who was second in the 2002 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Mike Smith has the mount on Penwith in the Santa Margarita, the championship race of the meet for older females.

Tara’s Tango and Taris won the important local preps for the Santa Margarita, with Tara’s Tango capturing the Grade 2 Santa Maria on Feb. 13 and Taris taking the Grade 2 La Canada on Jan. 16. Both of those races are at 1 1/16 miles. The Santa Margarita is at 1 1/8 miles.

Martin Garcia rode Tara’s Tango in the Santa Maria but is committed to go to Oaklawn Park on Saturday to ride Cupid in the Rebel Stakes, so Rafael Bejarano has picked up the mount on Tara’s Tango in the Santa Margarita.

Also on Saturday is the $100,000 Irish O’Brien, a sprint on the about-6 1/2-furlong downhill turf course for older California-bred females. Qiaona and Velvet Mesquite, second and third in last year’s Irish O’Brien, are expected to top the field. In their most recent start, Velvet Mesquite defeated Qiaona by 1 3/4 lengths in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint on Jan. 30 on the same course.